Cotton is an essential cash crop throughout the world. Many parts of the cotton plant are useful; however, cotton is particularly important in forming a variety of goods, for example, fabrics, clothing and many household items such as towels and tablecloths, etc. The use of cotton to generate fabric initially requires the processing of bales of cotton to liberate cotton fibers. Bales of cotton are typically opened by automated machinery to remove unprocessed lint. The lint can then be further cleaned by, for example, using a blower to separate short components of the lint from cotton fibers. The cotton fibers can then be woven into longer strands sometimes referred to as cotton yarn. The woven cotton fibers are useful in the manufacture of many different items, for example, fabrics, clothing and household items. A single pound of cotton may yield many millions of cotton fibers. However, the lengths of individual cotton fibers vary according to the species or cultivars of the cotton plant from which the fibers originated.
The quality of fabrics produced from cotton fibers vary according to the length of the individual cotton fibers. Relatively short cotton fibers are commonly harvested, for example, from the cotton species G. hirsutum, G. herbaceum, and G. arboreum. The relatively short fibers are generally considered of lower quality than longer cotton fibers harvested from the cotton species G. barbadense. G. barbadense-derived cotton fibers are commonly referred to as Extra Long Staple (ELS) cotton. ELS cotton is generally considered to produce higher quality and higher value fabrics, clothing, household items, and related products. Types of ELS cotton include, for example, American Pima, Egyptian, and Indian Suvin. Products carrying an ELS label, such as the aforementioned, American Pima, Egyptian, Supima, or Indian Suvin labels will generally command a higher price than products lacking such a designation.
Variability in cotton quality has lead to concerns over the authenticity of and accurate identification of quality cotton products. Once raw cotton or products containing cotton enter into the stream of commerce, which may include worldwide trade, it is often difficult to reliably determine whether cotton advertised as ELS cotton is, in fact, authentic or is blended or is composed entirely of short fiber cotton. It also may be difficult to determine whether a particular cotton product originated from a particular location, region or manufacturer. For example, counterfeit products manufactured from short fiber cotton may be inappropriately or fraudulently labeled as ELS, American Pima, Egyptian, or Indian Suvin cotton. Cotton products may also be fraudulently labeled as originating from a particular region of the world (e.g., as Egyptian cotton). There is an unmet need for a method of determining whether a particular article of cotton is entirely composed of authentic ELS cotton, or is a counterfeit article that includes significant amounts of or is in fact entirely composed of short staple cotton.
Counterfeiting and blending of high-end products with cheaper material has become a major liability problem for major brand names. The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) reported that in 2008, counterfeited goods resulted in a loss of $650 billion in revenues and 2.5 million jobs. The ICC projected that the loss in revenues will exceed $1.7 trillion in 2015, which is equivalent to 2% of the world economy. In addition to the revenue losses, certain counterfeit products were linked directly to serious health and safety issues. The counterfeit goods have infiltrated most industries from textiles to microchips, and even pharmaceuticals.